The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Emergency Medical Services Section announced that it will name Bruce Evans, assistant chief of business and support services at the North Las Vegas Fire Department,as the 2010 recipient of the James O. Page EMS Achievement Award. The award presentation will take place at Fire-Rescue Med, IAFC’s annual conference for fire service-based EMS leaders, May 1–5 in Las Vegas.

This award, presented by the IAFC EMS Section and Physio-Control, Inc., is given annually to an individual who has played a key role in creating and promoting nonclinical innovation and achievements in fire service-based EMS management and leadership that have had a positive impact nationally. The award is named in honor of the late James O. Page, who was a visionary and national leader in fire service based-EMS for over three decades.

Chief Evans is the assistant chief of business and support services at the North Las Vegas Fire Department. He has over 28 years experience in a variety of EMS settings. He began his career at West Des Moines EMS in Iowa before taking a job for Mercy Ambulance in Las Vegas and subsequentlymoving on to the Henderson Fire Department.

He is the past chair of NAEMT's Health and Safety Committee and currently serves on the EMS Safety Course Committee.

Chief Evans was named to the National Fire Academy’s strategic planning committee for EMS and is a constant voice promoting EMS in the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education initiative to bring a standardized EMS Management degree to the country. He’s an NFPA Fire Instructor III and a faculty member for the College of Southern Nevada’s Fire Technology Program. He’s also an adjunct faculty member of the National Fire Academy in the EMS, incident management and terrorism programs and a certified faculty member for the International Public Safety Leadership and Ethics training program.

He is a long-standing member of the IAFC, serving on the Fire-Rescue Med Planning Committee and the Avian Flu Task Force and as a representative to the NAEMSP. He’s an accomplished writer, coauthoring texts in EMS management and crew resources management and writing a bimonthly column on EMS in Fire Chief Magazine.

Recipients of this award are dedicated to creating a positive image for EMS as a whole while being an advocate of the fire and emergency service. They’re also devoted to making a difference for the overall good of the fire and emergency service and committed to furthering and strengthening the role and image of the fire service-based EMS across the country.